


1832 Days

by ObjectPermanence



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-10-10
Packaged: 2017-12-28 16:15:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/993965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObjectPermanence/pseuds/ObjectPermanence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the day they meet to 1832 days later. Relationships are hard when you're Enjolras and Grantaire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1832 Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hahahahah I don't even know what this is, don't look at me.

| Day 1   
   
It's one year after Enjolras gets kicked out of college that he meets him.   
   
A dark night in the Musain with Combeferre and Courfeyrac, wind whipping at the shutters on the window. The blonde noticed a young man about their age sitting at the back table, sipping from a bottle and intently watching the trio discuss a new ruling passed by the government on a controversial bill. Enjolras heard the stranger snicker at their banter, and then proceed to shoot down every point they had made with a smile, a wink, and a soft laugh.   
   
From the moment Enjolras saw the stranger, who he later learned was named Grantaire, smile he knew he would do almost anything to see it again. Anything to see Grantaire happy.   
   
-ooo-    
   
Day 365   
   
It happens one year after they meet that Enjolras was at Courfeyrac's birthday party.   
   
Enjolras had been reaccepted to his college, on the grounds that he wouldn't light anymore buildings on fire for a protest. Grantaire was in the kitchen with Bahorel and Feuilly, well on his way to drunk. Enjolras had offered to get Joly a new glass of water after Bossuet accidentally drank out of his. The blonds frowned at the drunken friends; he had always hated seeing Grantaire drunk. The dark haired boy became loud and physical when intoxicated, but he never lost his ability articulate a speech that would take down everything Enjolras said. He hated it.   
   
The blonde sighed and tried to push his thoughts away, "Hey, just don't throw up on the floor this time." He muttered, as Grantaire finished off his drink and swayed unsteadily on his feet.   
   
"Yes, oh mighty Apollo." Grantaire had responded, setting his bottle down on the counter. "I wouldn't dare to commit such an act in the presence of a god." He bowed deeply and nearly went careening into the nearby wall, had the blonde not steadied the other boy with a hand on his shoulder. From where they stood Grantaire's face was only a few inches from Enjolras's and the taller boy could smell the alcohol on his breath. Enjolras could see the haze of drunkenness clouding the usually bright blue eyes that stared into his own as if they held the answer to life. "Do you permit it?" The blonde felt the room spin as Grantaire hesitantly pressed his lips to Enjolras's own, a hit of fear making his voice quiver.   
   
As a response Enjolras kissed the shorter boy back and laced their fingers together. Grantaire smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing Enjolras had ever seen.   
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 545   
   
It's a spur of the moment idea to move in together.   
   
It was midafternoon and the pair was curled up on Enjolras's couch watching old home videos of them as children. Grantaire was swinging on a swingset, urging a woman with his dark hair and a gentle smile to push him higher and higher. In another Enjolras was pouting in a grocery cart, his blonde hair sticking up at every angle while he stuck his bottom lip out. They were happy memories on a rainy day.   
   
Grantaire had been complaining about how draft his apartment was when Enjolras threw his hands up and exclaimed, "Then you don't you move in with me, you spend enough time over here anyway!" The darkhaired boy laughed and kissed the blonde.   
   
He tasted like paradise.   
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 559   
   
The first time they have sex it's not planned, like everything else in their relationship.   
   
It started out quickly with kisses becoming heated until hands were wandering and touching the other. Enjolras pressed against the smaller boy, swallowing the soft noises he was making. "R" He breathed, waiting for the other boy to take control of the situation, not knowing what to do, being the virginal school boy Grantaire had often teased him about.   
   
"I've never done this before." He Grantaire to stammer out as the other boy peppered kisses along his neck and shoulders.   
   
Enjolras shuddered and sighed, "Neither have I."   
   
"If you're a virgin, and I'm a virgin, then who's flying the plane?" Grantaire chuckled into the blonde's hair as they tumbled onto their bed and began to slowly remove each other's clothing. Fingers explored and mouths breathed promises.   
   
The sounds Grantaire made that night were like a symphony.   
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 739   
   
When Grantaire's mother dies they fly out the her funeral.   
   
The entire plane ride was tense and full of anxiety. Grantaire was not looking forward to seeing his father for the first time in three years. Enjolras couldn't blame him for not wanting to see him drunk, homophobic dad.   
  
It was a somber event, though the sun shone brightly the entire time, as if nothing had happened. Enjolras held his boyfriend's hand the entire time they lowered the coffin. He could feel the stare of Grantaire's father boring holes into his back.   
   
Not ten minutes after the first shovel of dirt had been dumped into the hole did the old drunk begin to scream slurs and obscenities at the pair. Enjolras felt Grataire's muscles tense and the grip on his hand tightened as his father disowned him. They trudged across the grass, not looking back as the old man standing alone in a grave yard, yelling at his only son while his wife was buried, a bottle clutched in one hand.   
   
Grantaire didn't cry. Grantaire never cries.   
   
-ooo-    
   
Day 1104   
   
A year after the funeral Enjolras mentions adoption and that scares the crap out of Grantaire.   
   
The blonde had to calm him down for hours, saying that it was just an idea and they don't have to do anything if he doesn't want to. Grantaire clutched at Enjolras's sweatshirt and stared blankly at the opposite wall, "I'd be a terrible father! You saw my dad, I'll be just like him or worse! I'll fuck the poor thing up so badly, Enjolras! Oh, god I'd be awful and they would hate me and resent me-"   
   
Enjolras stroked his raven curls and rocked him slightly, "You'd be a wonderful father." He murmured, and pressed a kiss to his temple when Grantaire shook his head violently, "They would love you so much. You'll teach them to paint and draw and sculpt. They will have you wit and sarcasm."   
   
"And your extremely liberal political views." Grantaire breathed, barley audible. "They'll have your naive optimism that I couldn't live without." They stayed like that all night, talking about the child that might or might not be. Enjolras pressed his nose into Grantaire's sweater and breathed in.   
   
Grantaire smelled like rain and summer nights.     
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 1194   
   
They submit their application a few months later, hand in hand.   
   
Grantaire was shaking with excitement when they handed over the huge stack of forms to the woman behind the counter. She had red hair the was graying at the temples, and a smile that didn't reach to her eyes. "We'll get back to you once your paperwork has been looked over." He voice was gruff from many years of smoking, but the pair couldn't find it in themselves to care.   
   
The moment they stepped out of the building Enjolras picked Grantaire up, which was harder than he anticipated, and spun him in a circle. The early winter sunlight filtered around them as Grantaire laughed and kissed the blonde in the parking lot.   
   
His laugh was like the tinkling of bells.   
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 1233   
   
They fight one cold night in December, Enjolras will never forget that night.   
   
"You're not trying!" He screamed, tearing at his hair in anger and frustration as Grantaire balled his hands into fists at his sides.   
   
"I'm not trying!? Do you even know what I'm going through? Waking up every morning feeling like your heads splitting in two and knowing it would be so easy to get it to go away!" The dark haired boy's eyes were filled with pain and resentment, "Welcome to the world of physical dependency, Enjolras! It's not a fun place!"   
   
The blonde grabbed the remote off the coffee table and hurled it at the wall, "Then why not just quit!? Why not just give up and go back to the bottle!?"   
   
"Because I already know how broken I am, and if loose you I don't know what will happen!" Grantaire thundered, flopping down on the couch and curling in on himself.    
   
They clung to each other that night, not exchanging any words. Just holding each other in the dark.   
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 1572   
   
It arrives in the mail on an average Tuesday afternoon, with no warning.   
   
Enjolras would never be able to describe the feeling of joy when the letter arrived declaring that their application had been accepted after so long. Grantaire was speechless when a small picture fell out of the large manila envelope, onto the floor.    
   
The blonde watched as the shorter man covered his mouth with a hand and retrieved the picture from when it had landed. A little girl, no older than four, with two dark pigtails smiled up at them with bright blue eyes and a lopsided grin. Wrapping and arm around his boyfriend, Enjolras pressed a kiss to his cheek and murmured softly into his ear, "You're going to be a wonderful dad, R."   
   
"She has your eyes." The dark haired boy breathed, running his fingers over the photograph, as if in disbelief that it existed. "I think I can do this."   
   
"I know you can." Enjolras smiled, warmth blossoming in his chest. "She has your hair."   
   
"She's ours."    
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 1668   
   
Enjolras has never been good with setting up rooms, but tries to be as helpful as he can be.   
   
Grantaire insisted on painting the room by himself, something Enjolras was more than happy to comply with. When he returned home after class on day he was greeted by a warm yellow room, with bright green grass painted along the edge. A gang of circus animals smiled up at him, each with either a little hat, a bow tie, or a pastel pink tutu. The neck of a giraffe sporting a dashing rainbow mane reached a good few feet into the air as he balanced the light switch on his head, a large grin stretched across his face.    
   
In the corner a large stuffed rabbit sat atop a bed adorned with purple and pink sheets. The sheet of paper declaring that their application had been accepted was framed and was hanging above the bed.   
   
"Grantaire, it's beautiful." Enjolras breathed, wrapping his boyfriend in a hug and tangling his fingers in the familiar paint flecked curls.    
   
"I'm glad you like it, I put us in there too." He pointed to the corner, where an odd trio of a lion with a red jacket, a a bear with a paint brush, and an elephant with pink bows smiled up at them.   
   
Enjolras smiled and kissed Grantaire, "We're going to be a family."    
   
Grantaire smelled like paint and sweat, but Enjolras couldn't care less as they kissed again.    
   
-ooo-   
   
Day 1832   
   
The phone call comes during a rainstorm on a cold fall night.   
   
The sky was dark, and rain pattered on the windows and roof in a soothing staccato rhythm. Grantaire groaned as the phone rang, interrupting the calming sound of rain and cello emanating from the radio speakers. Enjolras smiled, ruffled the other man's hair and picked up the phone, "Hello?"   
   
"Sir, we regret to inform you that your adoption request has been revoked due to the agency choosing to place the child in a more stable environment than you are currently able to provide. We hope you understand, but it simply isn't in the best interest of the child to place them in a home environment with a student and an unemployed artist."   
   
Enjolras was silent for a moment, unwilling to believe what he was hearing, "Yes I understand, thank you." The line clicked dead a few moments later.   
   
"Who was that?" Grantaire asked around a mouthful of chips, leaning over to tuck a stray curl behind Enjolras's ear.   
   
Enjolras would never forget what happened when he told Grantaire that they had been rejected, and would have to start all over. He had never seen Grantaire cry, because Grantaire doesn't cry...or didn't cry until then. It's not a pretty sound, like it is in the movies; someone so moved to tears they bury their face in their hands and let out soft little noises.   
   
When Grantaire cries it's not beautiful or poetic, it's desperate, punctuated with gasps like he can't breathe and awful choking noises. There is too much panic in his eyes and it seems like he's drowning. He grabs at Enjolras and won't let him go, like a ship at sea rocking at high tide. All Enjolras can hear is muffled words masked by the sound of hyperventilating and gasps like he's dying. There is nothing beautiful in the tears of someone who has lost all hope.      
---  
  
 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Because we all secretly love to hurt the cute ones....follow me on tumblr? grantairescrotch.tumblr.com


End file.
